Custer State Park is preparing for a boost in visitation this year, as construction crews hammer out improvements at the four state-owned resorts that will cost more than $17 million.

Custer State Park Superintendent Richard Miller said reservations at the park campgrounds are up about 40 percent, and room and cabin reservations at the park's four resorts are up about 10 percent.

Miller said additional accommodations at both the resorts and the campgrounds account for some of the increase in reservations, as do the construction of camping cabins and the addition of electricity to many of the parks existing campsites.

Increased promotion by resort operators and growing interest in changes at the park also are a factor, he said.

"We're very, very happy with the increase in reservations," Miller said. "People seem really happy that we have the electricity in the campgrounds. And the new camping cabins help."

The most notable and expensive work is at the resorts, which are owned by the state Game, Fish & Parks Department but operated under a concessions lease by Regency Hotel Management, which is part of the Ramkota corporation in Sioux Falls.

The 2007 South Dakota Legislature approved bonding authority for $12 million in additions and improvements at the resorts and related infrastructure. But the work goes beyond projects covered by those bonds. It also includes work paid for by $2 million in previous concession fees and nearly $3 million in personal-property expenses by Regency.

Josh Schmaltz, the operations manager for Regency in the park, said there is a long-term method to what might seem like a madness of construction work.

"It's kind of surreal in a sense that we're trying to get all this done in a matter of two years," he said. "But we're part of history. This park will be here for years and years, and the work we've done will be here for my grandkids. It's really an honor to be part of it."

Key developments include the new 30-room Creekside Lodge and meeting rooms at the State Game Lodge; a new kitchen, expanded dining room and lounge, refurbished exteriors and a new water system at Blue Bell Lodge; renovation of the auditorium at Sylvan Lake Lodge; in addition, cabins at Legion Lake Lodge have been renovated, as have the rooms and cabins at the other three resorts.

Blue Bell has a new water system, and the Game Lodge is getting a sewer-lagoon update.

Yet to come is a complicated renovation plan for the historic State Game Lodge, expected to cost about $2.5 million. State parks director Doug Hofer of Pierre said that work will be a focal point of the overall project because of the historic value and prominence of the State Game Lodge.

"It's a pretty ambitious plan, but it's really going to ensure the future of the Game Lodge and make it a viable facility for generations to come," he said. "In my view, it's the most important project in the bonding program."

The goal is to make the game lodge more accessible to the public, including improving wheelchair accessibility, creating easy passage between the kitchen, dining room, gift shop, artist-in-residence area, lobby and restrooms, while still maintaining the historical integrity of the lodge, Hofer said.

The major construction work for the resorts overall began last year, and most of it should be completed by the spring of 2009, Hofer said.

"Of the $12 million in bonding, about $8 million of the work is under way now," he said. "I would expect that by mid summer, we'll have the balance (of construction contracts) awarded, and the rest of the work will occur next winter."

Winter will become a more active time in the parks, as Regency extends the visitor season with year-round accommodations at the new Creekside Lodge. A few cabins have been kept open at Blue Bell in past seasons. And with the renovation there, Regency plans to also keep the restaurant and lounge open during the winter.

Extending the visitor season at the resort is part of the plan to increase revenues, which are essential to making the bond payments through Regency lease fees. The lease also requires concessions revenue to be set aside for maintenance and repair at the resorts, as well as the replacement of property at the resorts that is owned by Regency.

The resorts plan a May 1 opening, although the work at Blue Bell could delay things there by a week or two. The new Creekside Lodge is scheduled to open by Memorial Day.

"It's going to be nip and tuck," Miller said. "The recent storms didn't help, but fortunately, a lot of work was moving inside by then."

The Creekside Lodge development was designed to fit in aesthetically near the State Game Lodge, probably the most widely known and revered structure in the park.

"From the highway looking down through the trees, it just looks like it belongs there, and always has," Miller said.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com